Kung-fu kick was great feeling - Éric Cantona
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Manchester United great Eric Cantona has amazingly claimed that his infamous kung-fu kick as the greatest highlight of his illustrious career.
The volatile Frenchman stunned the football world when he delivered a flying kick to Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons at Selhurst Park in January 1995 after he had been verbally insulted from the stands following a sending off.
The incident was a black spot on a magnificent career but after retiring from the game Cantona looks back on it with a degree of fondness, if not pride.
Asked on BBC's Football Focus what the highlight of his career was, he responded: "When I did the kung-fu kick on the hooligan, because these kind of people don't have to be at the game.
"I think maybe it's like a dream for some, you know sometimes to kick these kind of people.
"So I did it for them. So they are happy. It's a kind of freedom for them.
"So I speak about that because maybe they felt it. Because they felt something special physically. Maybe it was a different feeling. It's a great feeling, but different.
"I have seen so many players scoring goals and they know what that feels like, but this one – a player jumping and kicking a hooligan – it's not the kind of thing you see every day!"
Despite viewing the notorious moment in his career as one of his most enjoyable, Cantona accepted he was wrong to carry out the attack.
He added: "It was a mistake but that's life. That's me. You either take it or not. I'm strong enough to come back."
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| Eric Cantona launches his infamous kung-fu kick on a Crystal Palace fan at Selhurst Park Photo: Action Images |
The volatile Frenchman stunned the football world when he delivered a flying kick to Crystal Palace supporter Matthew Simmons at Selhurst Park in January 1995 after he had been verbally insulted from the stands following a sending off.
The incident was a black spot on a magnificent career but after retiring from the game Cantona looks back on it with a degree of fondness, if not pride.
Asked on BBC's Football Focus what the highlight of his career was, he responded: "When I did the kung-fu kick on the hooligan, because these kind of people don't have to be at the game.
"I think maybe it's like a dream for some, you know sometimes to kick these kind of people.
"So I did it for them. So they are happy. It's a kind of freedom for them.
"So I speak about that because maybe they felt it. Because they felt something special physically. Maybe it was a different feeling. It's a great feeling, but different.
"I have seen so many players scoring goals and they know what that feels like, but this one – a player jumping and kicking a hooligan – it's not the kind of thing you see every day!"
Despite viewing the notorious moment in his career as one of his most enjoyable, Cantona accepted he was wrong to carry out the attack.
He added: "It was a mistake but that's life. That's me. You either take it or not. I'm strong enough to come back."
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